St Dominic
St. Thomas Aquinas
A great philosopher and theologian, esteemed by many as the greatest Doctor of the Church and the “Universal Teacher of the Church,” Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 74) devoted his life to teaching, preaching, and writing. Born in Rocca Secca, Italy, Thomas was both saint and genius. His writings are recognized as milestones in the history Read more…
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St. Peter of Verona (Peter Martyr)
Peter of Verona (1205 – 52) was the first canonized martyr of the Dominican Order. Born in Verona, Italy, of parents who had embraced the heresy of Cartharism, he was educated at the University of Bologna and was accepted into the Dominican Order by Dominic himself. Because the Dominicans were theologically trained preachers, the popes Read more…
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Blessed Humbert
Of all the early Dominican writers, Humbert of Romans (1200 – 1277), the fifth master general of the Order, most clearly recapitulated the Dominican ideal. His major concern was to help his brothers understand their vocation as preachers and to clarify Dominican law and Dominican life. His profound writings on the “grace of preaching” stress Read more…
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Blessed Bartholomew
A noted writer of sermons and scriptural commentaries and a leading Dominican bishop, Bartholomew of Breganza (1201 – 70) was born in Vicenza, Italy, and educated at the University of Padua. During his studies at the university he met Dominic and joined the Dominican Order. After ordination Bartholomew was sent to preach against heresy in Read more…
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St. Hyacinth
Known as the “Apostle of Poland,” Hyacinth (1185 – 1257) was born of a noble family in Silesia. Trained as a priest, he was appointed a canon by his uncle, the bishop of Krakow, who took him to Rome on church business in 1220. Here Hyacinth met Dominic, who influenced him so profoundly that he Read more…
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Blessed Paul, Founder of the Hungarian Province
At the Second General Chapter, held in Bologna in 1221, the Dominican Order’s expansion throughout Christendom was planned in detail. The chapter fathers appointed Paul (d. 1241), a doctor of canon law from Bologna, to lead Dominican missionaries in Hungary, Poland, Albania, Russia, and Mongolia. On the mission to Hungary, in order to cover the Read more…
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Blessed Mannes
Mannes (ca. 1170-1235), an older brother of Dominic, was contemplative and holy. He placed himself under his brothers guidance at least from the foundation of the Dominican Order and perhaps even much earlier. Mannes joined the Order and was known as a fervent preacher, virtuous in his habits, meek, humble, and kind. He later helped Read more…
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Vision of Blessed Joanna
According to tradition, Dominic’s mother–Jane of Aza, also known as Joanna–had a dream before her son’s conception in which she saw a hound racing through the world igniting everything with a flaming torch. Troubled by this dream, she went to pray at the Benedictine abbey of San Domingo de Silos, located in a pleasant valley Read more…
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Canonization of St. Dominic
Popular devotion to Dominic increased after his death, and in 1234, only 13 years later, he was canonized by Pope Gregory IX, formerly Cardinal Ugolino, who earlier had been his patron. Canonization involved two boards of inquiry–one in Bologna and one in Toulouse–where eyewitnesses reported on his holiness under solemn oath before an ecclesiastical board Read more…
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Bl. Jordan of Saxony
The Order of Preachers celebrates the memorial of Blessed Jordan of Saxony, the Second Master of the Order and Successor to St Dominic, today (February 13th.) It has been said that “Jordan who, more than any one man after St Dominic himself, created the spirit of the Order, gave to it a joy and an Read more…
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Death of St. Dominic
On August 6, 1221, less than five years after the Holy See formally confirmed the founding of the Order of Preachers, Dominic died in Bologna, the site of one of the Dominicans’ principal university houses and schools of theology. Just before his death Dominic called first all the novices around him and then the oldest Read more…
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Establishment of Third Order
Although Dominic did not personally establish the third order (the Dominican Laity), he indirectly influenced its founding by his spiritual counseling of many laypeople moved by his preaching. As the Dominican friars established monasteries and priories, groups of the laity assisted them and were influenced by their spirituality. Eventually many of them formed confraternities or Read more…
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